More than 31,000 people were evacuated to safety as the rains pushed rivers over their banks and caused landslides across the region. Five-year-old Erick Jose Miselem on Friday became the 16th person to die in Honduras, when he drowned in Valle de Angeles, 20 km east of the capital. Two people were injured there and three are missing, while 85 homes were destroyed and 890 damaged.

The government in Honduras put the entire country under ``maximum alert'' late on Thursday, with schools closed on Friday.

A 13-year-old boy identified as Aquilino Flores died on Thursday in El Salvador while he was walking home from school. A flash flood swept him away in Las Marias, 65 km west of San Salvador.

Benjamin Artiga, 52, was buried alive under an avalanche in a south-easternneighbourhood of the capital, the fire department said.